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Ayios Yioryios (Georgios) Lefka ,or Agios Georgios Solea (it was known as Ayyorgi by Turkish Cypriots), is a village located three kilometers west of Lefka/Lefke. Agios Georgios means ”Saint George” in Greek. Turkish Cypriots adopted the alternative name Madenliköy in 1958, meaning “village with a mine.”

 

 

Until 1964, the village was a mixed village. As can be seen from the chart above, in the Ottoman census of 1831, the population of the village was 50:50, evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. This situation prevailed until the first decades of the British period. However, throughout the twentieth century, the Greek Cypriot population of the village increased more than the Turkish Cypriot; thus, by 1960 the Greek Cypriots constituted almost 68.5% of the village’s population.

Displacement:

The first recorded conflict-related violence took place during the intercommunal fights of 1963-64. All the Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the village fled to more secure areas. They sought refuge in different Turkish Cypriot villages and enclaves such as Nicosia(074), Elia/Doğancı(029), Kalo Chorio(lefkas)/Çamlıköy(041), and Angolemi/Taşpınar(018). The number of the displaced Turkish Cypriots of Agios Georgios was approximately 150 (143 in the 1960 census). The second conflict-related displacement took place in August 1974, when all the Greek Cypriots of the village fled from the advancing Turkish army. The number of the Greek Cypriots displaced from Agios Georgios was approximately 270 (259 in 1973). Most of the Agios Georgios Turkish Cypriots are still living in the Lefka/Lefke(060) and Morphou/Güzelyurt(072) areas with a large pocket in the village of Pentagiea/Yeşilyurt(084).

Current Inhabitants:

The village is deserted, and has not been used for any resettlement. It is a semi-militarized location situated in the buffer zone.

 

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Websites:

• http://www.cyprus-village.com/ (for the villages)
• http://news.karpasha.com/
• http://human-rights-archaeology.blogspot.com/
• http://kypros.org/Occupied_Cyprus/ (for the villages in the north)